blog

the new blog/ Pat Tillman article

Thursday, November 3, 2005

Posted: Oct 08, 2005 7:23:18 pm

The new blog still has to be accessed through the home page... we are working on a link through this part of the site... I have posted a thought provoking article on Pat Tillman... you can access it through the home page table of contents under BLOG... Ellis

PotatoPicker

Posts: 26
Registered:
2004-10-27

Posted: Oct 08, 2005 8:32:03 pm

Great article Ellis. I admire your ability to balance the honoring of Pat Tillman's sacrifice (and that of countless less familiar names of our sons and daughters) with the ability to stay questioning about why we are there.

This past summer I was fortunate enough to visit Arlington National Cemetery. At the Memorial to Woemn in the Armed Services which is near the man ientrance gate, I stumbled across a fascinating exhibit called "Faces of the Fallen". I would highly recommend a visit to the exhibit for those in the area, or to their web site, www.facesofthefallen.org/ for those who are not. Regardless of where you stand on the war, I think we need to understand the price we are paying. Freedom is not free, and many fine men and women are daily paying our part. God bless them.

Jeff
ellispaul

Posts: 38
Registered:
2003-11-10

Posted: Oct 08, 2005 9:44:37 pm

Jeff--
I was picking up a fax one day at a flowershop near Quantico Miltary Base in Triangle, VA. A woman came in who was in charge of funeral services for the cemetary there, which is part of Arlington National Cemetary.

She said that the suicide rate among the soldiers was very high, and she was seeing these boys sent home among the fighting victims in high porportions. Many of the soldiers in Iraq are very young, and are facing incredible stresses there. Many of the soldiers are also losing their home lives to divorce because of the long stays. Many have also lost their jobs in the states because of the long tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Family pressures, money pressures,pressure of an invisible enemy.

They sacrifice more than bodily harm by being there. God bless 'em... I hope there is a way for them to come home soon, that is somehow good for the Iraqi people too.
•-Ellis

SLAB

Posts: 3
Registered:
2004-10-05

Posted: Oct 13, 2005 11:20:10 am

Hey Yall,

Trying to make this discussion board do something it's maybe not designed to do. We are trying to move this discussion back to the main site. Things may look strange for a while while we are at it.

Jim (SLAB)

•-----------------

"When I say SLAB what I mean is THAT HE SHOULD HAND ME A SLAB!" - Wittgenstein

The birth of Ella

Thursday, November 3, 2005

Posted: Jul 18, 2004 9:27:33 pm

Hey y'all,

I was sitting before a crowd of three hundred at a workshop in the New Bedford Folk Festival, it was July fourth and my yet-to-be-born daughter was five days past her due time. My thoughts were drifting from the Karen Savoca song being sung... My daughter's missed her first curfew... can I ground her for this? Many a missed curfews will follow, no doubt, if she has any of my dna...

Sharon had had ghost contractions late into the evening the night before, so I knew today could possible be the day, but here I was 300 miles from home, singing songs to pay for the hospital birthday costs... Poppa's gotta make the bread, and I couldn't cancel.... I asked Sharon to call only if she was slipping into labor, because the day before at the festival every time the phone rang I was stricken with panic. We agreed that I would leave my phone on, she wouldn't call unless it was clearly popping time, and I would check in every hour between performances.

When the phone beeped I was in the middle of a show with four other performers... The show stopped (everyone was told before hand that I might be called out)... Sharon wasn't calling.. she was instant messaging, The crowd laughed when I explained that she had found a loop hole in our arrangement to keep me calm today... The text message read; "no emergency, just call me...". Of course I was hyperventilating in mid panic attacking anyway and Scott Alarik and the other performers told me to go check in with her... I left the stage for the lobby of the Whaling Museum... Sharon was on a beach a half hour from our home in Maine... She said,- "I talked to the mid-wife and she told me crxcxaaaarcrxcrxcaaaarcxkxkxkxkkxx"

It was static... Maine cell phone coverage is like water in a desert. I have every reception oasis on I-95 memorized from here to Boston. She was in the crackle zone. After the show I called her again and she let me know the contractions were steady now and ten minutes apart. She said the mid-wife said it would probably happen late that night or the following day, so I should stay and finish my last set. She was just going to check into our hospital which was close to the beach, just for a brief observation.

Contractions don't get you worried until they get under the six minute mark, then you start packing the car for the hospital, or calling taxis or ambulances. So feeling somewhat safe, I went to my main stage show and started warming up for the performance. There would be about thousand people there. My phone rang back stage. It was another instant message.

"7 minutes apart..."

Five minutes before I was supposed to go, I got another..

"6 minutes apart..."

I was in the middle of a crisis... a midwife crisis... I had heard about these somewhere...

Fortunately, Helene who runs the festival, with her husband Al, has had plenty of experience with this kind of thing... she was a maternity nurse. "It will happen tomorrow," she said.

I played completely out of my head and my fifty minute set was trimmed to 30-- by seven-thirty I was packing up, by 7:45 I was easing the accelerator up to eighty for the ride to Brunswick, Maine. I suddenly realized I had to get to through Boston before the 500,000 people watching the fireworks on the esplanade would be inching their way onto the highway. I eased the pedal up to ninety.

I know there are no land speed records between New Bedford and Boston. There shouldn't be. They should be illegal. It's dangerous to have records out there dangling before the competitive souls looking for a rush of adrenaline, the spark of danger, the race of a heart beat.

By 8:15 I had Boston's skyline in my view with the Blimps and copters flying above the crowd. Traffic was open and I flew through the Big Dig like it was worm hole in the sky. It spit me out across the bridge and I was sailing up to Maine. By the time I arrived in New Hampshire fireworks were popping on either side of the car. By Portland, Maine, huge displays of bright colors were exploding on both sides of the highway. It was as if they knew I was coming. I was hoping that I was going to be on time. Sharon was unable to get on the cell, so I was being informed of the progress through my sister--

"The contractions are three minutes apart... "

I was an hour away...

By the time I ran through the emergency doors, it was ten thirty. Fortunately Sharon had been given a little pain killer that slowed the process down enough for me to catch the last five hours of the labor.

Sharon was glad to see me. I was glad to see me. The thought of being reminded for the rest of my life that I missed the birth of my daughter's birth would have killed me... fortunately the worry worked it's way out through my gas pedal and there I was.

How can I help?

There is nothing more useless than a father in a birthing room. HEeeee-Hoooooo, Heeeee-HOOOO, Heeeeeee-HOooooo (that was my part, hers was blinding pain, mind numbing frustration, and agony). I played my role of cheerleader daddy with fierce courage and determination.

I'm glad I went to all those pre-natal classes, because I'm sure I would have fainted if I didn't know what was coming. Sharon couldn't have an epideral so she was going full out natural, except for a little pain killer to ease her along.

It wasn't working. She would sway against a giant birthing ball, gritting her teeth-- She got sick and lost everything inside her.

July fourth slipped away. There was relief that Ella would not have to share her birthday with cookouts, hotdogs, and drunk men lighting explosives.

By 2am Sharon was desperately in pain. She was literally begging for a c-section, and I was tempted to cave in, but she was remarkable and the three women- two nurses and a mid wife danced and swayed all around her contractions massaging and urging softly like a coven of gentle witches at a spa for pregnantly inclined. Sharon was so exhausted she slipped into sleep between the contractions.

At 3:05 the midwife check her dialation.

10cm.

Suddenly, the mood changed. The coven of witches were more like the marines on D-Day, storming into Normandy. Sharon turned into a Russian olympian about to lift 3,000 pounds, focusing and pushing with great vim and vigor with each contraction. I have no idea where she found the heart or energy for it.

The head was right there just under the surface.. It looked like an alien raisin. Within 45 minutes she had the head out, and the mid wife looked over at me--

"Would you like to pull the baby out?"

I hadn't really considered that before. But there I was pulling on my child, pulling her out cleaning her up with the nurses and placing it on Sharon's chest...

Sharon said a few "Oh my God, Oh my Gods" and our beautiful little one was introduced to the planet.

Some of you know I wrote "I've got Nine Months to Fix the World" as a song for Ella, and that the world is still about the same place as it was nine months ago. But someone came up to me today and said, You did your job-- the world is always short on good people who make a difference, and you just upped the count by one."

I hope you meet my little good'un. She'll be traveling with me whenever she can. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers, and I will see you soon out on the road...
Ellis

marty

Posts: 13
Registered:
2003-10-20

Posted: Jul 18, 2004 11:28:36 pm

Thank you for sharing Ellis!

We wish you, Sharon, & Ella the best!!

Take care,
Marty, Dianne, Alex & Leighann

wendy

Posts: 94
Registered:
2003-10-21

Posted: Jul 19, 2004 11:14:31 am

Amen.

•wendy
Jen

Posts: 23
Registered:
2003-10-20

Posted: Jul 19, 2004 2:24:10 pm

Well done, Ellis--made me cry at work. Will have to blame red eyes on luckily ever-present Houston allergies.

What a wonderful story, though, and congratulations again.

Jen

There is nothing more pessimistic than saying America can't do better. --John Kerry
Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
2003-10-20

Posted: Jul 24, 2004 10:07:58 am

What a beautiful story, fireworks and all....no doubt there will be many more beautiful moments for you and your family....Hmmm...I have to wonder if Sharon and Ella are going to think being compared to a Russian Olympian and alien raisin were the most beautiful metaphors you could have used!! Congratulations and best wishes for a healthy happy life to you all.

Patti
JohnAndMimi

Posts: 1
Registered:
2004-07-28

Posted: Jul 28, 2004 12:43:36 pm

Welcome to the world Ella.

Let the Games begin!!!!

John, Mimi, Ben, Leah and Thomas
alittleditty1

Posts: 2
Registered:
2004-08-05

Posted: Aug 05, 2004 7:47:21 pm

The first steps a baby makes, are into your heart! Good job.
Now you might soon need a binky guitar.

Hey,don't worry... it's not a total wash out. It can always be used as a worst example! :)
TakeItEasyTim

Posts: 24
Registered:
2003-10-21

Posted: Aug 15, 2004 1:05:16 pm

Ellis,

Thanks for sharing! It brings back the memory of when I first saw my son. I remember this feeling that came over me, I had never been with someone that needed me so much. How unselfish I would have to be and that this beautiful child had now become my #1 priority. I eventually made up a song that I would sing to him at night. I don't remember all of the words (I hear there better written down) but the idea was that I had thought I knew what love was, but I never really knew love until I saw you (my son).

As a freshman in college I had to do a value speech, after a while I decided to do it on love. The love of a lover, family, friends, pets etc. I did a lot of research but in the end it was really easy to write because it just flowed from the heart. It was an amazing experience, I ended getting a standing ovation from the class. So in the song when I said I thought I knew what love was I really did. I have been fortunate to be blessed with a great family, good friends and a wonderful wife but when I saw my son a whole new type of emotion swept over me.

Anyways, I am looking forward to hearing more songs about your experience as a parent. CONGRATULATIONS on the birth of Ella, your in for a wonderful ride.

Take It Easy
Tim
KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
2003-10-13

Posted: Aug 19, 2004 10:07:30 am

What a story...

Karen

"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
Admin

Posts: 114
Registered:

Posted: Nov 02, 2004 11:13:16 am

test

"Never trust a prophet in a party dress" -- Ellis Paul
LuanneMaguire

Posts: 1
Registered:
2004-11-08

Posted: Nov 08, 2004 6:59:20 pm

It is nice to know the end of the story that you began last night. Ella is a beautiful name and there is nothing like being a parent. Good Luck Luanne PS Dont forget to check out those "Paul" relatives in Louisville

Luanne (not the first)
Jupiter

Posts: 1
Registered:
2004-12-08

Posted: Dec 08, 2004 2:12:43 am

I don't think you will read this, but when I finished reading the story of Ella's arrival I realized she had missed the 4th and was born on the 5th of July. That was my father's birthday. He passed a few years back, but if she becomes half the individual my father was, you and Ella's mom can rest assured she is blessed with a kindness, and gentleness of spirit that few people possess. (Also a pretty good sense of humor from the sounds of it.)
Best to all of you. Maine is a great state to raise a family. I know, I'm raising mine here too.

bkh3296

Posts: 1
Registered:
2005-03-07

Posted: Mar 07, 2005 4:38:05 pm

A belated though heartfelt congratulations on the arrival of Ella!! What a grand and auspicious entrance! Thanks for sharing her story. Our son, Phineas, was born 8 days after Ella and we hope he will get to hear you in person soon!!

Yours,

Brian

Sophia, Thaddeus, Phineas, Melissa, & Brian

updated: 12 years ago

a writing excercise

Thursday, November 3, 2005

Posted: Nov 13, 2003 10:01:38 pm

11-13-03
Edgecomb, Maine

Sometimes when I am stuck for something to write about, I will start doing this deconstruction on people I'd like to use in songs, or sometimes they are fictional, or famous people I don't know. I let my imagination fill in the details...

It is a way to see someone under a microscope and helps pull details out of their lives to use in songs, or stories... It is like background research on a character... and it shows your audience who they are thru details rather then just telling them directly...

instead of saying someone "is depressed", you show them thru details... the shades are pulled, they are wearing dark clothing, etc... but because they details are specific, you create a sharp picture...

Details are important to driving character traits and plot points and this excercise helps pull them some of them out. If you have someone you would like to write about, try this one using them as the source. Hopefully some interesting things will emerge that you can use within the song or story...

The steps--

1) Name your character-- Do you use the real name, just their first name, or something suggestive that perhaps adds some
anonymity, or color to the story... Your choice, but be careful, you don't want someone to get mad at you...

Jimmy Aberdeen

is the character I will use to demonstrate how I do this... He is a character from the song "Eighteen" on the Speed of Trees. Though this is based roughly on events from my childhood, I used the name because it suggested James Dean-- a tragic figure and known risk taker. I wanted to connect that with the character in the song, and it provided anonymity to the real character.

2) Describe five items in the persons bedroom

1) empty beer can in the closet
2) graduation cap and gown thrown on the floor
3) blue spray paint cans
4) tv set in the corner with Beavus and Butthead tapes on top
5) dirty football uniform

what do these items tell you about the character?
How old is the character? what does he like to do? How does he live?

3) The Character looks into a mirror, what does he see? name five things...

what do these things shoe us about Jimmy? how does he take care of his appearance. Is he proud of himself? Shy? Disappointed? Where is his ego?

4) Assign the character two colors... colors literally paint a scene or a person... you might only use a color in passing, but it helps create mood and understanding.

a) bright blue
b) dark red

what do these suggest?

5) assign the character a non human twin... this creates a metaphor, for the person-- solid as an oak tree-- wise as an owl... that type of thing-- don't be afraid of feeling like you are reaching when writing this one down, you can disguise and smarten it up when you frame it in a sentence or song lyric... so it looks less like Disney when it's edited...

a) Jimmy Aberdean is... a thunder cloud

what does this say about the character?
Unpredictabe? Loud? powerful?

6) Give your character a voice-- what does he sound like-- what might he say?

"Will you please pick me up a six at the packie?"

what does this reveal about your character?

My Jimmy Aberdean only showed up in the second verse of "EIGHTEEN" but played a crucial role in the song...
only some of the excercise came into play, but I feel like I know him well enough to write about him now...

The voice of Jimmy Aberdean
still washes over me
he had a laugh
like a thunder cloud
He's holding blue spray paint
Jimmy was no saint
but he could always draw a crowd

That night
We climbed the watertower in Walker's field
That night
above the lights of town
our fates were sealed
That night
Jimmy fell down through the darkness
an ambulance brought silence to the scene
and carried off the life
and broken dreams
of Jimmy Aberdean

I hope you do this excercise-- it has been very fun at workshops to teach to other songwriters...

see you soon, y'all--
Ellis

Edited by Admin on: Nov 15, 2003 9:02:28 am

KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
2003-10-13

Posted: Nov 14, 2003 8:35:08 am

Ellis,

Were you interested in having folks share their replies/results here?

Karen

"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
ellispaul

Posts: 38
Registered:
2003-11-10

Posted: Nov 14, 2003 3:48:17 pm

Yup Karen--
if you all want to try it, I would use someone famous, but don't tell us who it is, see if we can guess based on details, then let us know at the bottom...

Here's one...

5 things in the room...
1) A stack of white t-shirts
2) box of ammunition
3) empty box for a rifle
4) The biography of Karl Marx on his night stand
5) A copy of the Dallas Morning Star

5 things he sees in the mirror
1) a gunslinger
2) white t-shirt brown slacks
3) short hair, neatly combed to the side
4) a short man, pale complexion
5) stance is casual but defiant

Color
dark brown
red

Non human analogy

a vipor
hawk eyed

Something he might say....

"I am nothing but a Patsy..."

scroll down for answer...

I could have dated the Dallas Morning Star to November 1963
for an extra clue...

the answer is....

Lee Harvey Oswald...

thats it!
ellis

KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
2003-10-13

Posted: Nov 14, 2003 5:30:42 pm

Okey Dokey. I get it. :-) I'm gonna have to think about this....and right now I'm writing from the business center of the beautiful Doubletree Hotel in downtown Dayton, Ohio.....me and Smokey decided to do another quick road trip....heading up the street to hear Bill Deasy, my 2nd favorite singer-songwriter....this is Smokey's first live BD show and I don't know who's more excited....

Karen

"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
Smokey

Posts: 24
Registered:
2003-10-20

Posted: Nov 14, 2003 5:42:39 pm

>this is Smokey's first live BD show and I don't know who's more excited....<

Ummmm....*I* know who's more excited. ;-) Now if I could just drag Karen away from this damned hotel computer!! :-)

SMOKEY
KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
2003-10-13

Posted: Nov 15, 2003 9:28:04 am

Where is everybody? [Smokey's still sleepeing so I have to do *something* to amuse myself!] I guess I gotta be the guinea pig and go first.....c'mon folks!

"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
Danna

Posts: 14
Registered:
2003-11-10

Posted: Nov 16, 2003 7:27:18 pm

Oh fiddle dee dee, Karen and Ellis, I didn't have to scroll down to know either of those!! Great exercise. I'm gonna have to think about this one for awhile. Plus I've got other homework (job related) I need to do right now. Thinking in Norman....

:D
Becky

Posts: 67
Registered:
2003-10-20

Posted: Nov 16, 2003 8:31:20 pm

Okay, Danna....see if you can get this one. (oh, you probably will!)

5 things in the room...

car keys

closet of 3/4 length sleeve tailored dresses

membership card to country club

plane tickets, rail tickets, circus tickets

strapped stilleto heels

5 things seen in the mirror....

rosy cheeks blushing from praise received from her accomplishments.

beret on her wavy shoulder length blonde hair

blue determined eyes

blue frock suitable for afternoon tea

young rich girl

colors;
blue
yellow

Non-human analogy
tiger

what she would say:
If I don't panic, I know I'll get out of this alive....

Answer:
Nancy Drew

"Life is always and never the same." Ellis Paul
KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
2003-10-13

Posted: Nov 16, 2003 9:56:29 pm

Becky,

Damn, you're good!

Karen

quote:
Answer:
Nancy Drew

"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
Danna

Posts: 14
Registered:
2003-11-10

Posted: Nov 17, 2003 5:13:33 pm

Becky, You are good. I didn't have a clue. I didn't really read Nancy Drew?? Isn't that awful? It's either work on this writing assignment or one for school. Oh well, still thinking. OK, say we get a really good lyric, where and how does the musical inspiration come in?

:D
Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
2003-10-20

Posted: Nov 18, 2003 11:39:28 pm

Great job on the writing assignments, I still have to gather a little more info for my character.
Scarlett Ohara and Nancy Drew , two of my favorite characters... I have two daughters and they both know Nancy Drew quite well. She is still popular today, via computer games, updated story lines and paperback books. I think she is still a good influence. And come to think of it I think it is about time for me to watch Gone With the Wind with my 12 year old. I was probably about that age when I saw it for the first time. I remember being so disappointed when I found out Clark Cable had died YEARS before I even saw the movie!!!

Patti
wendy

Posts: 94
Registered:
2003-10-21

Posted: Nov 19, 2003 7:38:23 am

Maybe even before the movie, I suggest you have her read Gone with the Wind, followed by Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Jubilee. Those different views are a grand exposure to the various politics and thinking of the Civil War era.

As a teenager, I remember being very much impressed by the different takes on that time (e.g. the "Truth" was not necessarily as easy as what you read in your history books!).

•wendy
Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
2003-10-20

Posted: Nov 19, 2003 11:54:05 am

Okay here it goes, maybe I should have chosen a more sinister character!!

5 things in the bedroom....

A book of Who's Who in America' Symphony Orchestras

A collection of Hoagy Carmichael 78's

An article in Parents magazine opened to "Raising Young Children in the new century"

A ferry schedule

Scattered sheet music and musical instruments

5 things in the mirror...

A "very" receding hair line

Deep set blue eyes

A smiling face

Mock turtle necks and blazers where there
used to be t-shirts and baggy pants.

2 Colors

Deep greens

Blue

Metaphor

Built like a "string bean"

Phrase

"Don't worry the new ones are the just like the old "

James Taylor

Patti
Smokey

Posts: 24
Registered:
2003-10-20

Posted: Nov 21, 2003 8:48:48 am

Patti, good job! I have to admit that absolutely nothing in the bedroom said "James Taylor" to me, but the mirror just shouted it. :-) And then the "deep greens" and "blues" clinched it. Good job!

And I think he looks great with or without hair. ;-)

SMOKEY
Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
2003-10-20

Posted: Nov 22, 2003 12:15:24 pm

Yeah, After I posted that I thought is it suppose to be a real person or a fictional character... Since JT "used" to be my favorite singer I guess I know a few not so common things about him.. Such as.. His wife has something to do with the Boston Symphany Orchrestra, I think in administration, but I assume she probably has musical ability so the scattered music and instruments...About a year or two ago they had twin boys...Harry and Logan, hence the Parent magazine..I happen to know he likes Hoagy Carmichael as a singer... He has a home on Marthas Vineyard so he needs the ferry schedule!! I have alot of old articles about him and in one of them he refers to himself as a string bean.
And you're right he does look good with or with out hair!!!

Hey did I ever mention, (probably a few times.. lol) I met him at LIVESTOCK the reunion concert with him and Carly... Next to anything I've done with my family that had to be the best night of my life

Edited by Patti on: Nov 22, 2003 12:17:51 pm

Patti
KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
2003-10-13

Posted: Nov 22, 2003 1:01:53 pm

Patti,

You met JT????!!! Holy moly!!

Karen

quote: Hey did I ever mention, (probably a few times.. lol) I met him at LIVESTOCK the reunion concert with him and Carly... Next to anything I've done with my family that had to be the best night of my life

Edited by KarenZ on: Nov 22, 2003 1:05:44 pm

"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
2003-10-20

Posted: Dec 01, 2003 9:44:57 pm

Hey Karen yes I did met him and it really was a great special moment. The whole nite was incredible.. I'll share the details with you some time!!

UNTIL then I was thinking about the writing exercise that Ellis mentioned. How he came up with the name Jimmy Aberdeen to envoke a feeling of James Dean...Well I have been listening to my Translucent Soul Cd alot again and think the same thing in the song Did I Ever Know You, when he says "I lost you outside on Montague Street"... Like in Romeo Juliet. I've always thought that's what he meant, but really "never" thought about it!! Isn't he just so clever!!!

Patti
KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
2003-10-13

Posted: Dec 04, 2003 8:10:37 am

Patti,

I never thought of the Romeo and Juliet connection! Interesting! I have to think about this....

Karen

"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
TallManinOregon

Posts: 16
Registered:
2003-11-22

Posted: Dec 04, 2003 1:52:48 pm

5 things in the room...

Lava lamp

Bookshelf overflowing

Pictures adorn the wall of worldly escapades

Thunder machine

blotter paper

5 things seen in the mirror....

a devious grin

a large man with a gleam in his eyes

face paint

A Red white and blue top hat

white hair

Colors
Day-glo swirls

Non-human analogy
Cuckoo

What he would say:
You can't really be strong until you see a funny side to things

Ken Kesey

TMiO
http://www.writeherenow.com
Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
2003-10-20

Posted: Dec 04, 2003 7:32:24 pm

Hi TMIO

Great descriptions, but I have no idea who Ken Kesey is??!!

Well the Dynamic Duo is coming your way, how many shows are you going to make it to on the west coast?? When is baby TMIO due??

Patti
Smokey

Posts: 24
Registered:
2003-10-20

Posted: Dec 05, 2003 8:57:49 am

Tall Man....I thought it was Charles Manson! :-)

SMOKEY
TallManinOregon

Posts: 16
Registered:
2003-11-22

Posted: Dec 07, 2003 1:57:29 am

Smokey... I am sure Ken's spirit is laughing right there with us on that one!

Patti... ummm, errr...

Can someone else help me out here! I have no idea where to begin... okay here's an idea, but if you don't know ANY of the back story this may not be helpful... but read on...
www.writeherenow.com/WHN_otherwriting_too.htm

... as for the Wonder Twins west coast appearances, I will only be doing the one show in Eugene, but I have ensouoraged friends all up and down the I-5 corridor to check it out! A Tall Man's gotta do his part...

Mama is into the 33rd week, so the babe could really come any old day s/he decides to! I will be sure to keep you all posted!

Edited by TallManinOregon on: Dec 07, 2003 2:00:28 am

TMiO
http://www.writeherenow.com
KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
2003-10-13

Posted: Dec 07, 2003 9:56:56 am

TallMan,

Isn't Ken Kesey the guy who wrote 'one flew over the cuckoo's nest"?

karen

"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
Danna

Posts: 14
Registered:
2003-11-10

Posted: Dec 07, 2003 5:27:38 pm

Yes, Karen. A great writer and major 60's acid head.

:D
Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
2003-10-20

Posted: Dec 07, 2003 9:10:52 pm

Well I tried to get to the link, but the "graphic something or other" wouldn't download. I did see his poster on the site, I like the quote with it about mystery..
You know I just could never get into OFOTCN... there is just something about Jack N. that I don't care for.

Hmm.. 33 weeks... will seem like an eternity!! Oh and I swear by this..the baby will recognize the music you are playing before it was born, after it was born.. I remember listening to Carly Simon's Film Noir...over and over again when I was about 7 months pregnant.. When my baby was about 9 months old I put it back in the cd to listen to again. Lindsay was laying down on her stomach and when the music started she leaned up on her elows and looked right at the stereo... Since I always play music that didn't surprise her, she def. recognized the songs!!!!

Patti
kadyogrady

Posts: 2
Registered:
2003-11-04

Posted: Dec 10, 2003 8:47:52 pm

I love writing exercises! MORE MORE!!

five things in her bedroom:

an empty flask

a hat, a coat and platform shoes

pencils and a notepad

an empty martini glass

copy of a New Yorker magazine

what she sees in a mirror:

disheveled dark hair

a tiny body

in

a dress with shoulder pads

riviting eyes full of intelligence and pain

a red lips framing a sarcastic, quick mouth

colors:

flat black
vermillion

Non-human entity

a fox

Something she might say:

"I'd rather be a liver than have one."

Dorothy Parker

(The quote is one of the few clever one-liners that's NOT hers!)

Kady O'Grady
kadyogrady

Posts: 2
Registered:
2003-11-04

Posted: Dec 10, 2003 8:52:39 pm

Ken Keasy = Electric Acid Koolaid Test

try it *wink*

Kady O'Grady
KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
2003-10-13

Posted: Dec 10, 2003 10:15:41 pm

Patti,

'cuckoo's nest' is one of my all-time favorite movies and I love Jack Nicholson! I wonder what that says about me?

Karen

"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
Menkaure

Posts: 7
Registered:
2003-12-06

Posted: Dec 12, 2003 6:10:39 am

Writing Excercise

Room:

Slightly dulled worn pencil

Copy of Emerson's "Self Reliance"

Pinewood rickety rocking chair

Fogged tri-pane window

Curtains that never close

Mirror:

Mangled grey beard

Tired but humbled feet

Deep set blue eyes

Drooping brow

Skillfull toolsmen

Colors:

Orange

Forest Green

Non-human:

Loon

Voice:

"Above all that is desired, give me truth..."

•Henry David Thoreau

I felt alive with Chris McCandless, I was wide awake in a dream.

updated: 12 years ago

Welcome to the new board

Thursday, November 3, 2005

Posted: Oct 20, 2003 10:36:52 pm

October 20th, 2003
Edgecomb, Maine

The Fall is in full bloom, chimneys are toasting the coming of winter, and I am tapping on the keyboard on the second floor of my home in Maine-- sooooo very happy to finally have this new board up and running-- I apologize for the delays.

I broke the glass in the woodstove tonight, so no fires for a couple days till it's repaired. My toes are cold!

These past few weeks, in car, I have settled into listening to "Sweet Mistakes", "A Carnival of Voices" and "Translucent Soul" to reaquaint myself with material I haven't played or heard in years. (Some songs need distance, objectivity, and time to regrow on you...and they did) It was a good history lesson on my own development as an artist as well... and a pleasant surprise to hear Jerry Marrotta's really thoughtful production work and Tony Levin's bass work! Man! Especially on "Self Portrait" from C o V....

After the Vance tour is through this fall, I will be playing some of these songs from past albums that have been neglected in the past few years along with newer material for my next recording project. (I have no idea when that might be, I have to write the songs first, but have four new ones still unrecorded) I am relearning lyrics and chord changes to "Seventeen Septembers" and "New Orleans" for now. I plan on revisiting "Paris in a Day" and "Lay Your Wager Down" too, and "Take Me Down" from Translucent Soul...

The Vance tour has been incredible, and just the refresher that I needed to spark interest in writing and recording again.Vance has been a great traveling companion and we have had as much fun in the car as when we are on stage together. I hope we can do this again sometime in the years ahead.I really enjoy diving into the Mark Erelli song "The Only Way" and love hearing Vance do Dave Carter's ode to Genesis called "Gentle Arms of Eden". Thanks for obliging us on this tour, we are having a great time of it.

I will be more present on the board, given the controls that exisit here-- and I am looking forward to hearing from you all!

See you at the shows--
Ellis

KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
2003-10-13

Posted: Oct 20, 2003 11:05:20 pm

Maybe this would be a good time to re-visit 'this old car'. :-)

Running for cover,
Karen

"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
daughterofthemoon

Posts: 13
Registered:
2003-10-21

Posted: Oct 21, 2003 8:38:52 am

Hey Ellis,

I'm usually just a lurker around here, but I too have been listening to Translucent Soul lately, as well as your Live CD. Was wondering, when listening to "Did Galileo Pray," if you have read Dan Brown's new book, The DaVinci Code? Great book, that raises a ton of questions, for me anyway! Anyway, I'll be coming to see your in store performance at Borders in Braintree next week, and if you are interested in reading it, let me know and I'll bring it with me!

Peace ....... Monica

Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
2003-10-20

Posted: Oct 21, 2003 12:25:07 pm

Ellis have you ever performed Paper Back Man live?? That's a great song... please relearn, rewrite, revamp, what ever it is you do to...Last At The Table, Weightless, Deliver Me, MYSTIFIED...oh this is gonna be fun!!

Patti
disgruntled_folkie

Posts: 12
Registered:
2003-10-21

Posted: Oct 21, 2003 1:33:46 pm

I have tortured many fans on the other board with my insistance that you need to play your old stuff. So it is great to hear that you may be revisiting your old material...I guess I'll have to go to a concert again!

"And so we keep on while we live
Until we have no more to give
And when these fingers can strum no longer
And the old banjo to the young one stronger
So though it darkest before the dawn
This thought keeps me movin on
Through all this world of joy and sorrow
We still can have singin tomorrow"
Pete Seeger
Adrian20

Posts: 6
Registered:
2003-10-21

Posted: Oct 21, 2003 1:59:18 pm

'some older tunes deserve a listen'? Heh, I listen to the same 70 Ellis Paul songs I have over and over day in day out here in my room! Cant get enough.. Anyway, to the topic at hand:
Oh my goodness! A new message board and a message from Ellis.. Is it just me, or does it feel like Christmas?

•--------------------------------------------
Pop the cork
A Shampagne glass
Raise to the future
Drink to the past
http://www.angelfire.com/id/googoo/ac4.jpg
MuseOfFire527

Posts: 1
Registered:
2003-10-21

Posted: Oct 21, 2003 3:34:27 pm

New member here, just wanted to say the board looks great and I'm glad to have found you all.

Ellis I've been a fan for years, ever since I heard you play at the beginning of my freshman year of college and now I'm making plans to catch the tour with Vance in Troy, can't wait!!!! Looking forward to hearing "Paris in a Day" again, I have very fond memories of you trying to get a roomful of college students to abandon their inhibitions long enough to sing louder than a whisper...

~If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the readiness is all~Hamlet V. II
lori

Posts: 1
Registered:
2003-10-21

Posted: Oct 21, 2003 6:03:10 pm

The board looks great.
Just wanted to say thanks for the great show last week at The Makor in NYC. I am listening to Side of the Road now...just a wonderful cd!

DanielB

Posts: 1
Registered:
2003-10-21

Posted: Oct 21, 2003 9:48:11 pm

Have you ever thought about playing "Black Shiny Shoes" again? I was listening to an old tape I have of this song the other day and it's addictive. Especially the chorus.

"And I ask myself, hey me, who else, would choose this life you're living..."

I'd also love to hear Urban Girlfriend and Worn out Pretension live!

Regards,
Daniel

Greymane

Posts: 2
Registered:
2003-10-24

Posted: Oct 24, 2003 10:39:50 am

I'll be looking forward to seeing and hearing you and Vance at Eddie's, even though Eddie isn't there anymore, on Halloween. Don may be there too, but he's not sure. It will be good to see you guys!

i'm very, VERY happy to hear that "Lay Your Wager Down" is on the list of old songs being revisited! one of my (many and ever changing) favorites...and the first song i ever requested. one of those that sort of snuck up on me and WHACKED me in the head...not coincidentally when returning from a visit with my family...

looking forward to new stuff as well! sorry to be missing the Elllis and Vance tour...just not in the right place at the right time...

happy fall to all ya'll out there where fall happens...

christy (in south texas...where fall is not so fall-like)

Edited by shrink on: Oct 25, 2003 10:40:19 am

tl507362

Posts: 2
Registered:
2003-10-31

Posted: Oct 31, 2003 5:20:46 pm

Ellis,
Glad to be here with you. I met you the first time in Denver, CO back in 10/97 for the "Writers in the Round" at Swallow Hill. I had asked you to play Conversation With a Ghost so I could learn how to play it. You graciously played it for me and I was able to get the chords correct. Thanks again for doing that. Since then, I have learned a few more of your songs, but your voice is much higher than mine, so I really can't sing them very well. I usually play David Wilcox songs because his voice is in my range. I do love your music and your playing style. In fact, I ended up buying the same guitar you have and the same pick up because I heard it that night! I bought the Santa Cruz F model with cutaway, with the fishman blend pickup. I do love my guitar! Thanks for sharing with us. Also, you had mentioned that you were going to put a new DVD out this fall with guitar lessons, and I was wondering how that project is going. I also noticed that you have no dates to play in Denver, CO...What's up with that?! Please come back, I'm looking forward to hearing your new stuff live! Take care,
Tracy in Denver

Tracy in Denver
Nance

Posts: 56
Registered:
2003-10-31

Posted: Oct 31, 2003 9:29:50 pm

Ellis,
Thanks so much for the unbelievable concert at the Outpost with Vance and Jill. "The Speed of Trees" will never travel at the same velocity again. Hope you fix your stove by winter.

Nance
janemnagy

Posts: 2
Registered:
2003-10-31

Posted: Nov 01, 2003 7:32:41 am

Marrotta and Levin? I've got to give another listen! I've been a Gabriel fan for years, and they are 2 of the best!

I woke up this morning to find your post on our computer screen, and began to read...This is actually my wife's account, whom I'm happy to say has turned me on to your music! We were fortunate enough to meet and see you at Happy Endings in Syracuse several months back. Fantastic and intimate show. I'll make it a point to re-listen more carefully to the Marrotta-Levin overtones this weekend.

Come back and see us in Syracuse,

Phil

LisaS

Posts: 11
Registered:
2003-11-01

Posted: Nov 01, 2003 12:37:42 pm

Hello,

Your show with Vance last night at Eddie's was fantastic! My only complaint would be of a selfish nature - WE WANTED MORE!!!! You were both amazing. Your music fed our souls. As well, thanks for the laughs! I don't think I'll ever be to listen to Speed of Trees quite the same now! ;-)

As for returning to some of your "older" music - it was sometime in 2000 when I accidently stumbled upon your music when searching the 'net for something to do on the weekend in Atlanta. (We live 45 minutes south of the airport). So, I guess we are still "newbies". Transluscent Soul is the first one I bought and my all time favorite, although I can't get enough of Speed of Trees. I just bought Stories and we enjoyed that on the way home last night. (I've also got Live and the 3000 Miles DVD...) My husband and I will be anxious for your next visit to Decatur so we can hear some of those "old songs" of yours. OR, we may just have to travel to a new town to experience your wonderful soulful music there. ;-)

Thanks so much for an enjoyable night. (And the autograph!)Take Care.

Lisa

dfox

Posts: 1
Registered:
2003-11-01

Posted: Nov 01, 2003 5:13:51 pm

I want to second Monica's recommendation (10/21) of Dan Brown's book, The da Vinci Code. I just finished reading it about a week ago and it is a "must read." I couldn't put it down after I got through the first 30 or 40 pages. It is one of the best books I've ever read. I heard the author interviewed on KPBS radio. It is based on years of research and even though the characters in the book are fictional, the historical references are supposedly accurate. Without giving anything away, part of the book is about how Leonardo da Vinci painted codes in the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper paintings. It also reveals the past and current existence of secret societies that causes one to question everything modern religions and male/female relationships have become. Ellis, based on what I have known you to read in the past, this is a book you will love.

I see you're coming to L.A. but not San Diego. We are patiently waiting for your return! I will look forward to hearing some of the "oldies" that hooked me when I first saw you at Words & Music Bookstore.

All the best,
Deborah

Deborah F.
San Diego, CA
thepoetgirl

Posts: 2
Registered:
2003-11-03

Posted: Nov 03, 2003 6:07:18 pm

Old tunes? Great! Please, please, please consider "I'm the One to Save."

Peace,

Jenn
Axer97

Posts: 16
Registered:
2003-11-08

Posted: Nov 08, 2003 10:12:54 pm

Great job on the new board. It will be nice visiting now. Thanks for putting this together.....

Ellis, in the "Notes from the road" section of the web site, you mentioned that you may try to put out a book of tabs for some of your music. Is this still in the works? I'd buy it the day it comes out. I have the DVD, but I still can't quite figure it all out. Until then, I'm patiently waiting for the next "Blackthorn Tavern" show. Last one was excellent.

For "DAUGHTEROFTHEMOON" -- If you liked the DaVinci Code, go back to Borders in Braintree. Dan Brown has I think four more books out there. "Angels & Demons" features the same characters as DaVinci Code and is also full of Vatican stuff. The others, whose names elude me at the moment, we also great reads.

Peace to all....Stevie C

In my mind I see a lifetime of tonights....EP
Danna

Posts: 14
Registered:
2003-11-10

Posted: Nov 12, 2003 6:07:03 pm

Ellis, After the Ft. Worth show at the Jefferson Freedom Cafe,the "high" of which I'm still haven't come down from,I had this incredible brain storm about a children's album by you Vance, Lucy Kuplanski and maybe even Pete Seeger????
I'm ready to start production on this any time ya'll are.
HA!!! No, really. It would be terrific. Keep the faith.